Mega Millions lotto ticket sold at San Jose gift shop

When the $636 million Mega Millions winning numbers were drawn Tuesday night and lottery officials announced the ticket was sold at a gift shop in San Jose, many Central Coast residents began making a mental list of everyone they know living over the hill.

Two lucky winning tickets were sold -- one at Jennifer's Gift Shop in San Jose, and another more than 2,000 miles away at a tiny newsstand in Atlanta.

The San Jose ticketholder's identity may remain a mystery for months - California gives the winner a year to come forward. But two winners are already known: Thuy Nguyen, who owns Jennifer's Gift Shop in San Jose, and Ira Curry, who bought the winning ticket in Georgia.

Nguyen told KNTV he doesn't know who the bought the winning ticket at his store, which sits along San Jose's tree-lined Tully Road, amid a cluster of Asian restaurants. But it's likely someone he knows - most of his customers are his friends.

Nguyen sells a variety of items, including Buddha statues, Vietnamese DVDs, clocks and flip flops. The former hairstylist took over the shop four months ago after emigrating from Vietnam in the early 1990s.

The winning numbers were: 8, 14, 17, 20, 39; Mega Ball: 7.

Georgia woman who bought just one ticket and used family birthdays and lucky No. 7 to choose her numbers was one of two winners of the $636 million Mega Millions jackpot, the second-largest in U.S. history.

Lottery officials in Georgia identified the winner as Ira Curry, of Stone Mountain, which is east of Atlanta. Curry will take a lump sum of $123 million after taxes, Georgia Lottery chief executive Debbie Alford said.

"She has not decided how she'll spend those winnings," Alford said at a news conference that Curry did not attend.

The other winning ticket was sold at a gift shop in San Jose, Calif. There winner there has one year to come forward.

Curry was driving to work Wednesday when an announcer on the radio talked about the Mega Ball being 7. Curry knew that was her Mega Ball number, so she called her daughter to check the ticket.

"Between joyful tears and laughter on the daughter's part, she relayed to her mother that her mother had won the lottery," Alford said.

Alford wouldn't say where Curry worked or how old she was. A person who answered the phone at a listing for Curry said, "We are not interested in any publicity, thank you for calling" and then hung up.

Curry, her husband and other family members came to the lottery headquarters to claim the prize, surprising lottery officials who thought the winner may take some time to get their affairs in order before coming forward.

Alford said she didn't think Curry believed she had won until lottery officials told her congratulations.

"She said she was just in a state of disbelief," Alford said.

Neighbor Kaliah Ladler, 18, said the Curry family was humble.

"Some people get big headed but I don't think they'll get big headed. They will probably use it for good," he said.

Francis Boudreaux, who lives across the street from the Currys, said he was happy for the family but sad because they will probably move now.

"I think they will start doing a whole lot of traveling," he said.

The jackpot was the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. It started its ascent Oct. 4. Twenty-two draws came and went without winners, Otto said.

Otto said $336 million in tickets were sold for Tuesday's drawing - they had projected $319 million.

The winners can choose to be paid over time or in a cash lump sum, Otto said. Based on the $636 million figure, the winners would receive $318 million each over time or $170 million each in cash.

Mega Millions changed its rules in October to help increase the jackpots by lowering the odds of winning the top prize. That means the chances of winning the jackpot are now about 1 in 259 million. It used to be about 1 in 176 million, nearly the same odds of winning a Powerball jackpot.

Copyright 2013 by KSBW.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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